Re: Air Cleaners for Carpet Odor

A Reader writes:

Hi Ed,

Thank you for your time and effort on this great site.

I stopped smoking over a year ago and I have since discovered that I am very sensitive to odors, particularly chemicals.

I have lived in apartments for most of my adult life, most with carpet and have never had a problem until now.

Over a month ago I moved into an apartment, an older complex, and it has carpet.

It was cleaned before I moved in and when I checked out the place I didn't notice any strong smells (the AC was on when I initially checked it out).

A few days after moving in, there is a smell (chemical like, hard to describe) that is very annoying and whatever I do will not go away.

I know it's coming from the carpet because if I spray one of these odor destroyers (Zorbx, Biokleen) on it, it goes away for a while only to return the next day.

I purchased an Austin Air Healthmate Junior for my bedroom and as long as I leave it running 24/7 it takes away enough of the smell so that I can sleep without any issues.

The only side effect from this is waking up with a slight headache once in a while.

There is no coughing, wheezing or sneezing.

The apartment is around 750 square feet.

The only true relief is by leaving the windows open, but again, it's only temporary.

The apt staff is aware of these issues and they have already moved me from another unit where the fumes from the ancient gas furnace were annoying me.

But here is the most annoying part: no one can smell what I am smelling!

My friends can't smell anything either!

I am at my wits end and am at the point where either I break the lease and shell out alot of money (more than a top of the line purifier), or purchase another air purifier which is capable of cleaning the whole living room/kitchen area, as the Austin junior is not capable of doing.

Can you recommend an air purifier for this situation?

Thanks in advance.

The Canary in the Coal Mine.

Ed's Reply

Hey Canary;

Carpet has so many ways to be toxic.

It could be pesticide residues or cleaning chemicals used by a previous tenant.

This is a continuous source emission. As you have discovered, any air cleaner will need to run on continuous high speed to make much of an impact.

So noise emissions, high in the Austin Airs, will be a consideration.

Since we don't know the chemical(s) causing the odor, I don't feel safe suggesting use any of the oxidators (Sharp plasmacluster, Winix Plasmawave, various photocatalytics...).

Your situation calls for a big carbon/potassium permanganate odor filter, such as found in the full sized Austins, some AllerAirs, and, of course, IQAirs.

I prefer the IQAir, but it may not fit your budget.

Your odor source could foul a carbon filter pretty fast, raising expenses.

If you can do-it-yourself, a good low-cost solution is to make your own carbon filter. I recently acquired a Winix Plasmawave 5300.

Dissatisfied with an odor from the prefilter, I decided to upgrade the $150 Winix with a carbon filter bag I built for a previous email response.

See Sharp Air Purifier Washable Carbon Filter Sweet Odor under the headline "Do It Yourself Carbon Filter."

I installed that $15 filter in the Winix and am very pleased with the results - I have the equivalent of a much more expensive air cleaner, with almost three pounds of quality activated carbon for odors/chemicals.

On the noise front I like the relatively quiet Mitsubishi-based Rabbit Airs - SPA-421A and SPA-582A - but you would need extra carbon filters with frequent changes as they have only about one pound.

Best Wishes,

Ed